The Best Of “The Voice” Around The World

Although we think mainly of The Voice as an American TV singing competition, it is actually an empire fueling the careers of up and coming artists from all over the world. Iceland, Europe, Spain, Italy, and more, these talented individuals show case their innate talents week after week and it really is such a treat to be a part of. From every corner of the world, here are the best moments that The Voice has had to offer.

Judges Go “Crazy”

There is a reason that they’re judges and to prove their individual talents, The Voice coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton came together to perform Gnarles Barkley’s “Crazy.”

With Adam on the drums, Aguilera center stage at the mic, Shelton on backup vocals and guitar and powerhouse Cee Lo off to the side, the four were incredible together. Just to keep in perspective how talented they are as artists in the industry, it’s always fun for them to remind us how great they really are and why they earned these important titles on the show. This performance was definitely one for the ages.

Zakirova Still Loves Russia

Performing “I Still Love You” was Russia’s The Voice contestant and Uzbekistan native Nargiz Zakirova back in 2013. This incredibly talented 46-year-old singer blew the crowd and judges away with her pure rock vocal range and impressive control.

More over, her rough and clearly cultured appearance with tattoos from head to toe, a shaved head with a monk-like do and rocker makeup really had them in complete awe of her. Finishing second place in the epic experience, Zakirova is now considered a professional singer that specializes in the vocal textures related to the rock genre and has definitely made a name for herself in Russia since the show’s end.

Mary Mnjoyan’s Hallelujah

If anything should be said about young powerhouse Mary Mnjoyan’s performance on the Armenian The Voice it’s that Leonard Cohen (not even Jeff Buckley) himself would have been proud. Dubbed “The Voice of Armenia,” after winning the 2012-2013 competition, the 20-something-year-old and now professional singer is a global force to be reckoned with.

Those sultry, raspy but still smooth vocals that came from her mouth not only sent the judges heads spinning but their chairs too. This old soul is currently studying the conservatory, toning her incredible vocal textures, but we will never forget the way she made us feel with her Hallelujah.

Dorota Osińska Makes Poland Cry

Just try to watch this amazing songstress without crying; we dare you. Her breathtaking falsetto rendition of “Calling You” onThe Voice of Poland literally brought one, if not all of the judges to tears as did it to us.

Finishing the second in the TV show competition, Osińska is associated mainly with Warsaw’s Rampa Theatre but has already performed all over the world professionally. Following the end of the show, Osińska has since released an album through Poland’s Universal Record Label called “Now.” Most recently, Dorota engaged in qualifying for the national rounds for the 61st Eurovision Song Contest and took 4th place in the major competition; we can expect incredible things from this ridiculously talented individual.

Jennie Lena’s Loving You

Within seconds of her first power house introduction, Holland’s Jennie Lena had every judge turned around with full attention and adoration for her extremely impressive rendition of “Who’s Loving You.”

With every note that Lena took, it was more and more clear that she was a force to be reckoned with and it was a bit shocking that she didn’t win the competition, but placed fourth. With a heavy history in theatrical music, the range and reach of Lena’s vocals was beyond impressive and has brought her much success in life. We hope to see this powerful woman in the future on the stage she deserves!

Panagiotis Vitzilaios’s Billie Jean

There are those that have the raw talent to be able to take a song that has been dedicated to a certain genre and mold it into their own version of something so pure in another that it feels like destiny.

Only true artists can adapt songs as their own with different spins and tucks to make them truly feel reincarnated and Panagiotis Vitzileos did just that on The Voice of Greece with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” He took the iconic pop-rock song to the full spectrum of rock with toned, gritty vocals, and power that has rarely been seen before and Greece just fell in love.

Nuns Alive in Italy

Performing an upbeat, adorable version of Alicia Keys’s “No One,” Italy’s Ursaline NUN Suor Cristina Scuccia wowed the judges, crowd and her own sisters on Italy’s 2014 The Voice. With the entire crowd on their feet during her audition, it really was a sight to see the vastly talented sister shred her vocals to the extremely tough ballad with so much fun and energy.

Not only did the amazing young 24-year-old woman constantly impress throughout the competition, she even won! With the help of coach J-Ax, Scuccia was significantly a favorite, conquered her biggest dream and won a recording deal with Universal and has since released a “Like A Virgin” Madonna cover on Vevo. Big things are to come for this nun; definitely check out this performance if you haven’t already.

Elly Oh’s Mamma Knows Best

Despite being told that she was not pretty enough to make it in Asia on the big stage at 19, Elly Oh wowed Australia on the 2014 season of The Voice with her “Mamma Knows Best” rendition that literally dropped artist will.i.am’s jaw.

Her incredible power with soul and rock renditions tucked behind a sweet, quiet persona made her a standout during the show’s process and made Australia fall in love with her. Under Ricky Martin’s supervision, the talent was cut during the live shows but that in no way is an ode to her blossoming talent as a singer.

Karise Eden’s World

This may be a man’s world, but Karise Eden has our attention. This stunningly pitched powerhouse had Seal practically on his knees begging for more and Keith Urban in utter awe of her talent to command the stage with pristine, soulful vocals.

The texture and tone of this wonderful individual are something you really just have to hear for yourself, but one thing is for sure, she had Australia’s attention throughout the competition as the first to win its The Voice season. Especially with her intensely perfect rendition of “It’s A Man’s World” in her epic audition that can barely even be described with words. Eden is now, as a winning star of the show, a professional singer with an already double certified first album!

Grimmie’s Wrecking Ball

When the incomparable Christina Grimmie came to the stage on The Voice’s 6th season, it was literally an immediate battle between Shakira and Usher for those perfected falsetto vocals to Miley Cryus’ “Wrecking Ball.”

By the end of the performance, Grimmie had every coach in awe and turned around with complete attention until she eventually chose Adam and took third place in the competition. Just as she was making it big following the end of the show, Grimmie was brutally murdered by an obsessed fan in Orlando, FL shot right on the spot at an autograph signing. The world mourned and still mourns the loss of the young, bright and hopeful star that now sadly have to say is lost forever.

Sawyer Frederick’s Gives No Sorrow

Within the first lyric of his incredible rendition of “I Am A Man of Sorrow,” Sawyer had Adam, Pharrell and Christina turned around in a heartbeat. Although it took Blake a bit to turn his chair, no one could deny the southern vocals coming from this young man dressed to the nines rockin’ his acoustic with pride.

Eventually, the 16-year-old individual became the winner of the 8th season of the U.S. The Voice under the wing of the great Pharrell and tied as the youngest to win the competition with Danielle Bradberry. Fredericks has since signed with Republic Records but decided to go in an independent direction recently with his mother as his manager set to release a killer album in the coming months.

Vince Irie Stirs It Up

Holland’s Vince Irie really stirred up the crowd with a killer and heavily melodic mash-up of Oasis’s “Wonderwall” and Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up” with a pure, reggae-tonic voice that rocked the judges to their core.

Not only was Vince’s technique and ability to blend the two different genres together impressive, but his beat box- do op vocals crated a sonic product that almost seemed destined to be together. Since The Voice, Irie has released a few singles in the UK, “Ik Wil Jou,” “Prachtig,” “Unfaithful,” and “Take It Easy” that have brought the professional reggaeton singer much fame in the country.

David Dam Gets It on with the Judges

You would never think that Holland’s handsome David Dam wasn’t straight out of the States when he opened his mouth to the iconic Al Green “Let’s Get It On” ballad on The Voice of Holland.

His vocals compelled the judges to get up and dance with him on as he sensually thrust his way through the song with ease. Sadly Dam lost in the cross-battle portion of the show, but the way that he could make the judges and us feel when we listened we will never forget. Even Al Green himself would have gotten up on that stage and thrust along with Dam.

Josh Kaufman Is Willing to Try

Adam was hooked with Josh’s first soulful dip in his astonishing rendition of George Michael’s “One More Try” and within just minutes, Kaufman had every chair in his direction with their full attention.

The 38-year-old vocalist became the eldest person to win the contest with the help of both Adam and Usher and has since been featured in the Indy Jazz Fest, Indiana State Fair and a production of Pippin on Broadway. With his Republic Records label backing him, he released Josh Kauffman in 2016 and is working on releasing more wonderful work in the future.

Guðrún Árný Doesn’t Want To Be Alone

Not only does Iceland’s Guðrún Árný sound identical to the great Céline Dion, but she even looks like her too! With a stunning rendition of Dion’s “All By Myself” that was literally pitch perfect with her subtle scarf and braided hair, she had the judges practically in tears from her pureness and rawness.

Arny did not make it as far as this performance could have helped anticipate, but nothing can take away from her immense talent, range and control that she displayed on that stage that night. With not a dry eye in the house, she was considered to be quite a promising candidate at the time.

Hjörtur Traustason’s Midnight Special

Not many can do John Fogerty justice, but Iceland’s Hjörtur Traustason really made “Midnight Special” his own and eventually won the show in 2015. His incredibly soulful texture and powerhouse vocals took him straight to the top of the competition and earned him the admirable title.

With The Animals, Bing Crosby, and other covers in his past, it was clear that Hjotur knows soul and knows rock. Although it is literally impossible to make out with the Icelandic judges are saying it was even obvious that one was saying he expected to turn around and see a heavier man with his power and then he turns around to this fit, younger guy that really just blew him away. This “Midnight Special” was truly special.

Támar Davis’ Chain of Fools

With power, soul, and class, Támar Davis owned Aretha’s “Chain Of Fools” like her own. She had Christina around within seconds of the start of the audition with those vocals and eventually brought round Shelton as he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to coach Davis.

An already established singer in the industry, Davis is most known to have sung with Prince and was an original part of Destiny’s Child when it was still Girl’s Tyme. Although Tamar did not win the competition under Christina’s wing, she proved that she’s still got it and stars in a number of Tyler Perry’s musical plays.

Kevin Simm’s Chandelier Swing

Wow, there isn’t much to say other than the word wow when it comes to the impressive falsetto rendition of Sia’s “Chandelier” done by Kevin Simm. The Voice UK happily welcomed the 35-year-oldmale powerhouse’s dominant vocals within the first high pitch he hit without an ounce of hesitation.

After revealing that he was formerly in the UK pop group Liberty X, the crowd went wild as they instantly remembered the sensation; especially Boy George with his “guilty pleasure when no one was looking” confession about Simm’s former group. And under the gentle and brilliant wing of vocalist Paloma Faith, Simm was announced the victor of the 2016 The UK Voice season and is currently working with Republic Records.

Valborg Ólafsdóttir’s Halo

Not only is the incredible vocal build of The Voice of Iceland’s Valborg Ólafsdóttir a breathtaking thing to hear, but to watch her physically and emotionally evolve with her notes is a sight to see.

This unbelievable rendition of Beyoncé’s “Halo” on Iceland’s 2015 The Voice brought the talent far in the competition, but she fell short of winner Hjörtur Traustason’s southern rock-inspired talents. Regardless, the pitch that she was able to achieve week after week always had the crowd in awe and as one of the hardest modern falsetto songs to cover, she did an incredible job that Bey herself would have loved.

Alisan Porter’s Blue Bayou

Words cannot even express the chills that formed when we heard Alisan Porter’s fantastical rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Blue Bayou” on The Voice. Like a young version of Dolly herself, Porter’s southern, raspy and perfectly pitched vocals carried through the soft ballad like smooth butter being spread on a bun.

Not only could you not help but get the feels during her subtly commanding performance, but you really couldn’t look away either for fear of missing her hit the complex and varied notes. With a background in Broadway, the 35-year-old talent eventually won the competition with Aguilera leading the vocal charge and has already reached top 10 on the iTunes charts!